Japan tsunami marine debris detection report

Marine Debris Program (U.S.)

"This report synthesizes actions and lessons learned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the overall marine debris community through efforts to detect marine debris caused by the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011. This tsunami inundated over 217 square miles of coastal Japan and washed an estimated 5 million tons of debris out to sea as it receded. The Japanese government estimated that 70 percent of that total sank immediately, leaving 1.5 million tons of Japan tsunami marine debris (JTMD) that broke up and dispersed over the North Pacific in the months and years following the tsunami. Following the tsunami, the marine debris community - including U.S. federal, state, and local agencies as well as academic and non-governmental groups - began efforts to assess the quantity, location and movement of the remaining JTMD in order to better anticipate and prepare for its potential impact on marine and coastal resources and communities. While shorelines throughout the Pacific are consistently impacted by chronic marine debris, the acute pulse nature of the release of JTMD combined with the potential for additional impacts - such as navigational hazard from large objects and vessels and invasive species impacts from objects colonized by species native to Japan - created specific interest in and concerns with JTMD"--Executive summary.

http://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-NOS-ORR-51

Technical Memorandum

National Ocean Service (NOS)